I find salsa without cilantro completely bland -- might as well be ketchup. For me cilantro is essential to any Thai or Mexican dish.

That said, I am also aware that many people find the taste unappealing (I guess like the way turnips make my taste buds scream, shrivel up, and hide until it's safe to come out again). Apparently it's a genetic thing, same as how some people find broccoli exceedingly bitter. De gustibus...

Being Mexican, cilantro was always always always around growing up. Never knew anyone hated it until I moved to New Orleans for school, and I met people who described the "soapy" taste. Funny enough, it's not their fault their genes are all f*cked up. :shrug:

Gotta have it in salsa, guac, pico, and many Asian dishes - but yeah, a little goes a long way. Don't drown my tacos in it, and don't add it to my salad mix (looking at you, Kroger).

I hate when they add it to salad mix. I love cilantro, but it has the wrong taste to be in a salad.

Yeah, it overpowers the taste of all the other greens. Plus, it clashes horribly with certain flavors.

One night I came home from work with a whole slab of Norwegian smoked salmon my boss gave me and some lemon-caper vinaigrette. Being ravenous, I promptly threw some of the fish on a pile of spring mix and added cucumber, capers, and some fresh dill. A few bites in, I notice something really f*cking off - apparently Kroger had thrown cilantro into that particular batch of Simple Truth mixed greens (something I had never encountered before). Man, that threw off the whole damn salad. And it takes quite a bit to overcome the flavor of smoky salty salmon.

TuteTibiImperes:violentsalvation: I'm fine with cilantro, but f*ck, a little bit goes a long way. A half a cup is really excessive.

It depends on how fresh it is. Grocery store cilantro often lacks the potency of fresh picked.

When I go to Moe's I have to ask them to really pile it on.

I find cilantro really easily overwhelms all the other flavors, but when used in moderation it really does help complete a well-rounded dish. But I'm crazy about hops and IPA's so wtf do I know about moderation?

violentsalvation:I find cilantro really easily overwhelms all the other flavors, but when used in moderation it really does help complete a well-rounded dish. But I'm crazy about hops and IPA's so wtf do I know about moderation?

I hate when they add it to salad mix. I love cilantro, but it has the wrong taste to be in a salad.

Yeah, it overpowers the taste of all the other greens. Plus, it clashes horribly with certain flavors.

One night I came home from work with a whole slab of Norwegian smoked salmon my boss gave me and some lemon-caper vinaigrette. Being ravenous, I promptly threw some of the fish on a pile of spring mix and added cucumber, capers, and some fresh dill. A few bites in, I notice something really f*cking off - apparently Kroger had thrown cilantro into that particular batch of Simple Truth mixed greens (something I had never encountered before). Man, that threw off the whole damn salad. And it takes quite a bit to overcome the flavor of smoky salty salmon.

But, I'm on Team Cilantro in general.

I can't remember where, but I had a salad once like that where whoever made it thought it would be a good idea to throw cilantro in it. Noooope. I couldn't finish it because the cilantro was just too overpowering, and I remember having to throw it out because it would've been a hassle to pick all the cilantro out.

IBreakdance2NIN:unamused: Cilantro ain't Mexican, it's Asian. Nobody put the crap weed in TexMex until the Californians decided to make TexMex trendy about 30 years ago.

Derp.

Coriander spans from Europe and North Africa all the way to Asia. Spanish settlers brought it with them in the 1600s and it eventually became part of Mexican cuisine.

In about 1990. It was originally Mediterranean, they fobbed it off on the Chinese in exchange for spaghetti. San Franciscans loved it in the coolie food and decided to try it in Tex Mex. It exists so that people who love the taste of papier-mâché can have a backup source of food if the newspaper isn't delivered.

unamused:IBreakdance2NIN: unamused: Cilantro ain't Mexican, it's Asian. Nobody put the crap weed in TexMex until the Californians decided to make TexMex trendy about 30 years ago.

Derp.

Coriander spans from Europe and North Africa all the way to Asia. Spanish settlers brought it with them in the 1600s and it eventually became part of Mexican cuisine.

In about 1990. It was originally Mediterranean, they fobbed it off on the Chinese in exchange for spaghetti. San Franciscans loved it in the coolie food and decided to try it in Tex Mex. It exists so that people who love the taste of papier-mâché can have a backup source of food if the newspaper isn't delivered.

The wife canned me some special salsa last night. We named it "say my name" salsa in that after eating it, I would scream her name the next morning when I pooped./I suggested Heisenberg salsa, but she didn't get it.

You can either know the consistency of your next shiat, or when/where you will be when it comes out, but not both?